Memories and family secrets

"She held one of her blades high. Pointin' toward the starlit sky.... then drove the tip into the ground. I know what all it meant. A sword of destruction.... Its target? Destiny." my mind was racin' With what I got own self into. Marked the small cargo box ready for transport, and stuck it with the others. "Wasn't hard to read that. From the scans I took while it was still hot, it was made, not natural. Means it hit like it was dropped, not hurled. Yeah... I picked up that someone sent it.... I had my ideas but wasn't sure anyone'd listen."

"Had to get workin' on a few other projects.... Lily was bein' kept real busy. Seems Xoxo had her workin' on a recreation overlook. I ended up with a task too... Had to set the stone worked rail along the edge." Walked to the stacked stones outside, takin' in the view..... the meteor'd been broken down while it was still warm. Now it was more like a bunch of small canyons. "The work wasn't that hard to do. Xoxo was out there watchin' the meteor for a couple days. I could see what was left of her tent. Its where I found her.... Settin' there holdin' what all was left of a semi melted piece of artificial brain. She was talkin' to her own self. Looked like she hadn't eaten in days... and she'd been cryin' by the look of her face and eyes." Moved a couple rocks into place and placed more mortar and sealant on em to hold em in place.

"I let her talk til she was ready to notice me..... She knew I was there though. She looked right at me and told me stuff that she'd never tell anyone on a good day. I s'pose she needed to tell someone her deepest darkest secrets..... Secrets I'd bury deep down so no one could read em.... Had good practice with that. She said, 'It started here, it ends here.'" Another layer of stones and more sealant and mortar. "Figured that Krenshar wasn't all artificial.... that he had some DNA. What Xoxo told me, confirmed it.... But she was his maker.... How she was in love with the man whose DNA was in Krenshar. A browncoat.... "

Lookin' 'round out over the precipice that'd be a Recreation area.... Or was it a memorial...... "How she was workin' for the 'laince, but not by choice. Mindo was involved in it all. The plan for her was to mate with Blue. How... was the question, til Mindo had to take some of Xoxo's DNA after she run off. Its how Lily come to be.....Its how Mindo made good on the experiment...... LilyBell Snoodle was in respect Xoxo for the experiment to work. Then there was Blue, the artificial Intelligence." Stoppin' for a mo, I took a long drink of water. It was warm out here. The ground was still warm from the meteor.... No radiation.... Just entry heat. Lily was below diggin' out a few places.

"Xoxo, told me a lot 'bout what happened... Her past.... what she did. Seems the 'liance brought in what all was left of the feller she loved. She did what she could to preserve what was left of him. Used what little was left and intergrated it with one of the AI 'bot brains. No one'd know what all she done. To save her Samual..... She said she killed what was left of him so the 'liance couldn't use him for more experiments. Seems they need live subjects...." Took a mo to check the levelness of the stone wall. Was lookin' good so far....

"Krenshar was in some respect Samual. The replicant and what little was left of the man. The stuff she told me was a might profound. Lily carried Xoxo's DNA, Krenshar, Samual's. They contributed to AuroraBlue's birth, includin' Seana and a couple other's.... That and a part of my soul. Without Mindo and Blue the experiment might be lost on the 'liance. Only he knew the details.... Doubt he'd shared his info with anyone. Xoxo said a lot of stuff... Somehow I figured... But it still left me shocked 'bout what all she was tellin' me.... from her past. How she killed Mindo too....." Made my head ache. She had to've done it with her mind.... Like how Kitten could contact me from far off..... "Seems she needed to tell someone everythin'. Sort of to clear her soul.... Maybe to set the whole thing strait. Maybe cause its somethin' to do with family...."

"Lily come up to me and said not to believe much of what Xoxo said. Lily don't know what all Xoxo told me. Stuff I got hid below all my own pain and stuff that happened with me. Lily asked a couple questions the other day, 'bout my trip to Paquin. She wanted to know what all AuroraBlue was doin'." Looks like a lot's goin' on... And I got to figure out the puzzle again... That and the stone wall.... With more placin' and mortarin'.

"With all the stuff goin' on... all the greivin' and folks needin' consolin'. Decided to go do my own goodbyes..... The flight to Blackburne was full of old memories and nightmares. On the ground, it was a matter of closin' my eyes and 'seein' the past sweep past me. There was a lot of ruins.... House was more burned out mess then anythin'.... But the small storage cellar there was still intact. Took a few hours to dig down to the hatch. Once in there, I pulled everythin' out. Spent some time goin' through the boxes....." Lily was movin' 'round down below. Looks like she uncovered some dead lookin' trees..... Like bones of the past....."Once I got that and the seed cryo boxes loaded on Monster, I went and welded a cross together then set it by what was left of the house."

The stone wall was lookin' good. Needed more stones to place though. "One thin' I did do was leave a clippin' of my hair in a small pouch there. Left a piece of myself with my family. The feathers strung on a strip of leather with beads were so the eagle messenger'd let God know who was here... Lived and died here.... The ride back was more'n a little quiet. Relivin' old memories. Then there was the 'liance officer.... Major Siamendes.... She come right into the AT&S office. Only reason I didn't toss her out on her head was my word to Seana, and the fact she was a good friend to Brooke. She wanted help in findin' some kids what been taken from Paquin. She thought she could get me to help by sayin' what all I was doin' was lowly. I said it was better'n been a lab rat.... She had nothin' to say on that... Figures..... I made a sort of deal with her. I help her with findin' the kids if she finds out what all happened to Kitten... And I don't get put in a facility IF i got to go to jail...."

"So now I put my own self into a tight spot..... Not what I wanted, but if it gets me somethin' on Kitten.... Just got to wait and see.... Just need to know she's not bein' used for any 'laince gorram experiments...."

Love and Money

"Not sure where all to begin.... Gorram Xoxo and her cheap skatin'. We do a job for her. Ok, so yeah, I couldn't find the gorram warehouse. No Blue Sun sign on it. Just a blue hands symbol.... I think she put it up this mornin'. Another thing to cheat us out of money." Slammin' my fist on the counter didn't help how I was feelin' 'cept maybe ease up some of my anger. "I told her to at least pay my crew. They worked hard. I didn't need her money Didn't go for the money. Instead, she up and tells me to use my own cash. I was tempted to just load it all back up and return it here to Hale's. Let her find another crew to transport her trash. Even called her a cheap skate to her face. Didn't get shot for sayin' it either."

AuroraBlue at Al Raqis. Not sure what she's searchin' for...

"Ok, so I had my own motives for headin' to Paquin's Spinwheel. She was there. Lily even said she was. Said somethin' like she was there to learn from the Companions. Aiya! I didn't want her to go join up with em. Not AuroraBlue..... As it was just seein' her had me spun 'bout. To go off and be somethin' she wasn't meant for.... " Frownin', I reached for the datapad again and thumbed through the manifest pics for the ones I really wanted to see. "She was becomin' a beautiful young woman. Lately seein' her, had me just starin'. Hehe, sort of embarrassin' to be gawkin' like that when I saw her all filled out the first time. But then she left Hale's Moon and headed for Al Raqis, Baumonde, And a couple other places. I know..... I got the pics to show of her journey."

One picture faded slowly into the next one as my hand rested on the datapad. She was grown, or near grown up now..."Not sure why she went off. Maybe to find knowledge, or her own self in all the confusion." Blue sent these pics to me. Lettin' me know she was ok. Of all the stuff goin' on Blue was there in my corner. "She hadn't had much time as a little one to understand it all. Lily couldn't give her the info she really needed. but Lily did give her the peace from outside sources when it was crucial. One thing she did say of AuroraBlue this last time she was here. Somethin' wasn't right. I noticed it too. AuroraBlue was real pale. I could see it. She was smokin'.... Just like I was at her age.. or mindset..... Maybe she was rebellin'... Who knows......"

Couldn't keep lookin' at the pictures of her... I'd end up goin' back there again for the third time on a little over a week. "Xoxo offered me a job to transport the cargo to Paquin and like a gorram fool I jumped at it. I didn't care. It gave me a legit reason for bein' there. I had to know she was all right. Didn't doubt she felt what happened here... Feeling the possible loss of Krenshar..... Some say he was there when it hurtled down from the atmo. Didn't want to leave with the rest. But then there's that small reserve for self preservation..... Yeah, Most likely he was ended, but there is the small chance he made it into the catacombs far below." It didn't help when I said as much to Tillery, Lily, and the new feller... Put my gorram big feet into it."

It struck the whole of Destiny, levelin' it in one night...

"When We got to Spinwheel and off loaded We decided to grab a drink The three of us joked over the money in the bar when Dav offered to cover." Guess the joke was on me. Xoxo needs a dose of kindness to the folks who do jobs for her. "Later Rita and I got to talkin' 'bout stuff. her on her family business.... Bank robbin'... And her wantin' to roll a bank sometime soon. With my strange luck it'd go all weird on us. When the others went off to sleep, I went for a walk along the beach near the landin' area. Needed to try and refocus. Talkin' to Rita 'bout what happened to my family reopened a few old wounds I thought I had control over. Sleep was out for now. Couldn't with AuroraBlue so close... Didn't want her to see those things in my brainpan. Her connection with me went deeper then most folks think. Memories from a past that was both old and new.... Was in AuroraBlue's brainpan.... All jumbled, and I could see it in my own head..." picking up the duffle I'd taken out of the Monster, I removed a seashell. A real special one.

Turnin' it over, I put it to my ear and listened to the quiet sounds in it.... "AuroraBlue was near. I caught her scent real strong. She come up and sat with me for a while as I talked. Told her I wasn't spyin' on her. Had a good reason for bein' there. Said it was a Blue Sun cargo transport. All legal. She sat and listened. There was a mo when I was tryin' to figure how I'd talk to her 'bout smokin'. Said it was cause Lily and Xoxo asked me to stop my smokin' and drinkin'. They knew I needed to when AuroraBlue was born. Not sure if it got through or not to her. Was hopin' it did. She don't need to be behavin' like I was." Set the seashell down gently on the counter, with my hand restin' on it instead of the datapad.

"She gave me this shell. Didn't need words to tell me what she meant with it. She touched a finger to her heart, then to the shell restin' in my hand. When she did that she put her hand on mine to say she was givin' it to me. Its not the shell itself what was important, but the meanin' behind it. She was givin' me her heart." Sighin', I rubbed my face. Hadn't slept much on the trip back.

"AuroraBlue let me know in her own way how much pain she was in over the Meteor hit too. First she stood tall like Krenshar, then she lay there in the sand all curled up, cryin' and suckin' her thumb. All I could do was scoop her up and hold her through the sobbin'. Did what I could to comfort her. Was like she was all little again and needed someone to be there for her. Can't say I wasn't effected by that. I was hurtin' too.... for her and the loss. When she got to feelin' better, I let her up so she could walk a few feet away. She needed to do one more thing. The one sound she did make was familiar..... She howled. Not sure why, and didn't care, I joined in with my own. Sort of a goodbye in a way....."

AuroraBlue preppin' for her walkabout.....

"Can't say why, but bein' there for her was maybe somethin' we both needed at that time. Both needed to share the hurt and the comfort. Not alone...." My mind was startin' to spin back to the here and now. "Then when I get back ro Hale's there's Xoxo waitin' for me. She was none to happy. Refused to pay us and treated me like a dummy. Well at least I know she don't really hate me. If she did, I think I woulda been headed for the clinic with a hole in me. So I let the crew go back to their places, paid, and I went back to Spinwheel to do damage control. Someone broke into her offices and trashed the place. Tossed boxes out into the street, and stuff everywhere inside. Spent a good couple hours cleanin' up the stuff, gettin' it moved to the warehouse, and repairin' her desk. She best be grateful to that."

All said and done. Was able to give my crew some cash to survive on a little while. Fixed my own mistake and took care of somethin' for someone who aught not deserve it. And got to see AuroraBlue again. Went to see someone I love. Didn't go for the money.